Policies ‘key’ to EU wind growth

WindEurope says sector can provide 30% of Europe’power by 2030

26/09/2017

Wind power has the potential to provide up to 30% of Europe’s electricity by 2030 with 323GW of installed capacity, but only with the right policies in place, according to WindEurope.

WindEurope said in two new reports – ‘Wind Energy in Europe: Outlook to 2020’ and ‘Wind Energy in Europe: Scenarios for 2030’ – that “significant changes to the energy system” would also be required to reach the projected milestone.

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“This includes greater certainty on long-term revenue stability; significant progress on the system integration of variable renewables including build-out of the grid and interconnectors; and clear policy commitments on electrification,” it said.

The 2030 figure also includes repowering of about 50% of existing wind farms in the region, WindEurope said.

Europe could be on course for an average installation rate of 12.6GW a year up to 2020, it added.

Total wind capacity in 2020 would stand at 204GW, however, the growth is likely to be concentrated in six countries – Germany, UK, France, Spain, Netherlands and Belgium.

Germany, France and the UK would have the most installed capacity, with 85GW, 43GW and 38GW respectively.

Denmark, Ireland, Estonia and the Netherlands would be the only countries sourcing more than 50% of their electricity from wind by 2030, WindEurope said.

WindEurope chief executive Giles Dickson said: “Wind energy is now firmly established as the cheapest form of new power generation. But the outlook from 2020 is uncertain.

“The industry needs binding and ambitious National Energy and Climate Action Plans that provide clarity on post-2020 volumes, which will allow cost reductions to continue.

“This requires a good outcome on the EU Clean Energy Package. With an ambitious European renewables target of at least 35% by 2030, the wind industry could deliver even bigger volumes at competitive cost.”